100 Years Ago
March 13, 1919
Become Fordson dealers for entire state
Henry Ford and Son selected two Torrington men to compose the organization which will be the permanent state distributor for the Fordson tractor and auxiliary farm tools. The men are W. F. Anderson and Erie H. Reid. Headquarters will be at Cheyenne with branch offices and warehouses at other points in the agricultural districts of the state The Fordson organization at Detroit designated that Cheyenne, the capital of the state, should be the headquarters.
New bridge at Torrington being considered
One of the matters under consideration by the county commissioners at their session last week was a new bridge over the North Platte river at Torrington. The members of the board looked over the ground and readily agreed that a new bridge was badly needed. The matter of finance is the greatest problem, but that may be overcome. It has been estimated a solid concrete bridge, the kind contemplated, will cost $50,000 or better.
75 Years Ago
March 16, 1944
Need emphasized for
conserving gasoline supply
To emphasize the need for conserving the supply of gasoline at home, which this week led to the curtailment in the value of gasoline coupons in this area, some of the requirements for the armed forces were pointed out.
Half of the supplies shipped to our Army overseas are petroleum products. In the case of the supplies needed for the invasion of North Africa, the figure was 65 percent.
Tanks of one armored division burn some 25,000 gallons to move 100 miles. On a single, six-hour flight, 1,000 four-motor Army bombers use, on the average, 1,850,000 gallons of high octane fuel. It takes 12,500 gallons of fuel to train a single pilot.
Trailblazers defeat Gillette in
second-round play of tourney
The Torrington Trailblazers have earned the right to meet either Buffalo or Superior tonight at 10 o’clock by virtue of their defeat over Gillette this morning in the four-day, double-elimination state high school basketball tournament now underway at Laramie. The score of the Torrington-Gillette game was 57-44 in favor of the local boys.
In the first round of play, Torrington was defeated last night by Worland, 48-30. According to coach Royal Huckins, who phoned the information here, “It was no disgrace to be beaten by this team. They should finish in the top bracket. The Torrington boys played excellent ball but were simply outclassed by the upstaters.”
50 Years Ago
March 17, 1969
Places fourth in district speech contest
Charles Wall, V.F.W. District “Voice of Democracy” officer, presented the Voice of Democracy pin to Miss Barbara Pratt of Torrington for entering the V.F.W. contest. Miss Pratt was also presented with a $25 savings bond from the local V.F.W. Post 2918 in Torrington. Barbara, who is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Ernie Pratt of Torrington, placed fourth in the district.
The national winner of the Voice of Democracy contest was Miss Debra George of Cheyenne. Miss George received a trip to Washington, D.C. and a $5,000 scholarship.
Tel-O-Gram
Kathy Carlson, a student at Goshen Hole High School, has been awarded the Curtis Liberty Bell award for outstanding service to school and community. She was one of three students in southeastern Wyoming to win the award. The Liberty Bell award is an exact working miniature of the Liberty Bell and is awarded to students selling $250 in magazine subscriptions during the school’s drive. There were only seven of these awards won in the district comprising the four states of South Dakota, Nebraska, Colorado and Wyoming.
25 Years Ago
March 16, 1994
Council discontinues recruitment service
The Torrington Town Council gave its approval Tuesday to discontinue arrangements with a recruitment service to bring new businesses to Goshen County.
Gary Dill, director of the Goshen County Economic Development Corp., recommended the arrangement with Cochrane and Associates be discontinued. Economic development funds paid fees to have Cochrane work with companies in California that were interested in relocating.
Dill said he met with Cochrane for an update on recruitment efforts and was not able to get “any definitive information.”
Dill said he was told Cochrane has an agreement of confidentiality with businesses and they couldn’t give out any specifics. Cochrane officials said they had canceled arrangements with a lot smaller towns because it wasn’t working out, Dill said.
Crews begin widening 85
Crews have begun work widening 1.3 miles of Highway 85 south of Torrington, a project earmarked for completion by July 1995.
Besides widening the roads, a second bridge for the southbound traffic will be added, said Keith Rounds, Wyoming Department of Transportation spokesman.
The decision to make changes on the highway were part of a long, drawn out process begun several years ago, he said.
Roads in the state are evaluated on a continuous basis, Rounds said. The department considers many factors when considering repairs. Officials rate the condition and rank the priority of all of the roads within the state.
“The higher the (ranking), the greater the need for that section,” Rounds said. It could take five to seven years before specific projects become a priority and are funded, he said.
